FIDIC contract types: Red vs Yellow vs Silver Book and Law 182
The difference between the FIDIC Red, Yellow and Silver Books, the best-known FIDIC contract types, is who designs and how the work is priced: under the FIDIC Red Book the employer designs and the contractor is paid unit rates on measured quantities, under the Yellow Book the contractor designs and builds for a lump sum administered by the Engineer, and under the Silver Book the contractor takes on engineering, procurement and construction for a fixed price and carries most of the risk with no Engineer. Law 182 of 2018 and its Regulation is Egypt's public procurement law, setting the rules on payment, retention and advance payment in public bodies' contracts. Choosing a form starts with two questions: who owns the design, and who can price the risk.
By Ta3mir engineering team · Published · Last updated
FIDIC Red vs Yellow vs Silver and Law 182 in one table
Select a contract name in the table header to read its full guide. The Red Book and Law 182 figures come from Ta3mir's reference data; the Yellow and Silver cells carry no figures because the Contract Data sets them for each project.
| Aspect | FIDIC Red 2017 | FIDIC Yellow 2017 | FIDIC Silver 2017 | Law 182 and its Regulation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who designs | The employer or its consultant | The contractor, to the Employer's Requirements | The contractor, with procurement, construction and commissioning | Not set by the law but by the tender documents and scope |
| Price form | Unit rates on quantities that are measured | A lump sum | A fixed lump sum with fewer adjustments | As the contract says; the public body may vary each item's quantity by up to 25% at the same rates in works contracts (Law art. 46) |
| Payment basis | A monthly Statement of the value of measured work done | The Schedule of Payments if any, otherwise the estimated value of work done | Usually a milestone Schedule of Payments | Payments on account by progress (Law art. 45), and 75% of the value of materials on site (Regulation art. 93) |
| Who certifies | The Engineer: the payment certificate within 28 days of receiving the Statement, payment within 56 days of that receipt by default (sub-clauses 14.6 and 14.7) | The Engineer issues the payment certificate; the periods are in the contract | The employer or its representative; there is no Engineer | The public body reviews it and pays what it approves within 60 days of complete submission (Law art. 45) |
| Retention | Rate and limit in the Contract Data; half released after taking over, half after the latest Defects Notification Period (sub-clause 14.9) | Rate and limit in the Contract Data, released in two stages | Rate and limit in the Contract Data | 5% of executed works until provisional handover, with 95% paid (Regulation art. 93) |
| Advance payment | If the Contract Data provides one (sub-clause 14.2) | If the Contract Data provides one | If the Contract Data provides one | Up to 25% of the contract value, 50% with medium, small and micro enterprises, against a guarantee (Regulation art. 92) |
| Risk allocation | Design and quantities mostly the employer's, construction the contractor's | Design is the contractor's; unforeseeable site risks follow a contractual procedure | Most risk is the contractor's, in principle including unforeseeable conditions | Set by the tender documents, with mandatory price adjustment every three months in works contracts of six months or more (Law art. 47) |
| Suits which project | Buildings and infrastructure designed by the employer | Plant and design-build projects with clear requirements | Facilities handed over ready to operate, and financing that needs price and time certainty | Contracts of public bodies in Egypt |
Law 182 is not a contract form like the FIDIC books but the law governing public bodies' contracts in Egypt, and a FIDIC-based contract may be used under it. Its mandatory rules and the Regulation then prevail over anything in the contract that conflicts with them.
Read each form in detail
- Employer's design
FIDIC Red Book 2017
Time limits, the payment cycle, retention, variations and claims, by sub-clause number.Read the Red Book guide - Design-build
FIDIC Yellow Book 2017
The contractor's design responsibility, the lump sum and Schedule of Payments, taking over and the Performance Certificate.Read the Yellow Book guide - EPC / turnkey
FIDIC Silver Book 2017
A fixed price, more risk on the contractor and no Engineer, and when it suits your project.Read the Silver Book guide - Public contracts in Egypt
Law 182 of 2018 and its Regulation
Certificate payments, retention, the advance and delay charges in public bodies' contracts.Read the Law 182 guide
Pricing types: unit rates, lump sum and cost plus
| Pricing type | How the amount due is worked out | Who carries the quantity risk | Where you find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit rates (bill of quantities) | Measured quantity done times the contract unit rate | Mostly the employer | The FIDIC Red Book and many public bodies' contracts |
| Lump sum | A total price paid by instalments or by progress, without measuring quantities | The contractor | The FIDIC Yellow and Silver Books |
| Cost plus | Documented actual cost plus an agreed percentage or fee | The employer | Urgent work or undefined scope; not the price form of any of the three FIDIC books |
The cost-plus-profit principle appears in the FIDIC books when valuing some of the contractor's entitlements, such as variations with no similar rate, but it is not the form of the contract price itself. Under a lump-sum contract, unit rates still help value variations if a schedule of rates is attached.
Payment, retention and the advance in figures
- FIDIC Red: the Engineer issues the Interim Payment Certificate within 28 days of receiving the Statement, and the employer pays within 56 days by default of the Engineer receiving the Statement, not of the certificate (sub-clauses 14.6 and 14.7).
- FIDIC Red: the retention rate and limit are in the Contract Data; the first half is released after the Taking-Over Certificate and the second after the latest Defects Notification Period expires (sub-clause 14.9).
- Law 182: the public body reviews a works certificate and pays what it approves within 60 days of its complete submission and acceptance (Law art. 45).
- Law 182: 95% of the value of works actually executed is paid and 5% is retained until provisional handover, or paid earlier against a bank guarantee (Regulation art. 93).
- Law 182: the advance is up to 25% of the contract value, and up to 50% with medium, small and micro enterprises, against an unconditional bank guarantee (Regulation art. 92).
- FIDIC Yellow and Silver: retention, the advance and payment periods exist, and their values are in each project's Contract Data and Particular Conditions.
How to choose a contract form
- If the employer is a public body in Egypt, Law 182 and its Regulation govern the contract whatever its form, so start with the tender documents.
- If the employer's design is ready and the quantities can be measured, the Red Book fits best.
- If the employer wants to set the requirements and leave the design to the contractor, with an Engineer still administering, choose the Yellow Book.
- If the facility is handed over ready to operate, the employer or its lenders need price and time certainty, and the contractor has the time and information to price the risk, choose the Silver Book.
- If there is extensive underground work or the site conditions are unknown, avoid moving all the risk to the contractor and choose the Red or Yellow Book.
- In every case read the Contract Data and Particular Conditions: they set the actual percentages and periods for your project.
Example: one certificate under the Red Book and under Law 182
An illustrative date and amount: the contractor submitted a Statement or certificate on 5 March 2026 for executed works worth 1,000,000. The Red Book with its default periods, Law 182 with its statutory payment period.
| Item | FIDIC Red 2017 | Law 182 and its Regulation |
|---|---|---|
| Statement or certificate submitted | 5 March 2026 | 5 March 2026 |
| Latest date for the payment certificate | 2 April 2026 | Within the payment period |
| Latest payment date | 30 April 2026 | 4 May 2026 |
| Days from submission to payment | 56 | 60 |
| Paid on works worth 1,000,000 | Per the Contract Data | 950,000 |
| Retained until handover | Per the Contract Data | 50,000 |
Payment is due by 30 April 2026 (day 56) under the Red Book and by 4 May 2026 (day 60) under Law 182. Under Law 182, 950,000 is paid and 50,000 is retained until provisional handover; under FIDIC, retention is at the rate written in the Contract Data. Under the Yellow and Silver Books, the periods and percentages are read from the Contract Data.
Practical steps before signing any form
- Establish who owns the design and who bears its errors, the first thing that separates the forms.
- Establish the price form, measured unit rates or a lump sum by instalments, and its effect on your cash flow.
- Read the Contract Data or tender documents: the retention rate, the advance and the payment periods.
- Count payment deadlines from the date the certificate or Statement was submitted or received, not from its approval.
- If the contract is with a public body in Egypt, check that it is consistent with Law 182 and its Regulation.
- Tie every notice and claim to the periods the contract sets, and keep proof of when each was delivered.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the FIDIC Red and Yellow Books?
Under the FIDIC Red Book the employer designs and the contractor is paid unit rates on quantities actually measured; under the Yellow Book the contractor designs and builds for a lump sum paid by a Schedule of Payments or by the estimated value of work done. In both, the Engineer administers the contract and issues the payment certificates.
What is the difference between the FIDIC Yellow and Silver Books?
Both are design-build for a lump sum, but the Yellow Book is administered by an Engineer and protects the contractor from some errors in the Employer's Requirements and from unforeseeable conditions, while the Silver Book is administered by the employer or its representative with no Engineer and puts most of the risk on the contractor.
When should I use the FIDIC Silver Book?
When the facility is handed over ready to operate, such as a power station or a factory, the employer or its lenders need price and time certainty, and tenderers have enough time and information to price the risk. It does not suit extensive underground work or unknown site conditions.
Is Law 182 like FIDIC?
No. Law 182 of 2018 and its Regulation is a law governing public bodies' contracts in Egypt, not a contract form. A FIDIC-based contract may be used under it, and the law's mandatory rules then apply, such as paying 95% of executed works and retaining 5% until provisional handover (Regulation art. 93).
How much retention is held under FIDIC and Law 182?
Under Law 182, 5% of executed works is retained until provisional handover (Regulation art. 93). Under the FIDIC books the retention rate and limit are written in the Contract Data, and the Red Book releases half after the Taking-Over Certificate and half after the latest Defects Notification Period (sub-clause 14.9).
Within how many days is a certificate paid?
Under the FIDIC Red Book the Engineer issues the payment certificate within 28 days of receiving the Statement, and the employer pays within 56 days of that receipt by default (sub-clauses 14.6 and 14.7). Under Law 182 what is approved is paid within 60 days of complete submission (Law art. 45). Under the Yellow and Silver Books the Contract Data sets the periods.
How to do it in Ta3mir
In Ta3mir you prepare interim and final certificates that go through an approval path including the consultant, and the in-app contracts reference summarises the FIDIC Red Book 2017 and Law 182 with its Regulation.
- The contracts reference: clause summaries, tables of time limits and percentages, and the payment and claims flows for the FIDIC Red Book 2017 and Law 182 with its Regulation.
- Certificate items as previous, current and cumulative, with retention and deductions to date at the foot of each certificate.
- Approved variation orders adjust the contract value, and each project has a register of contractual claims.
- After a certificate is approved you issue a claim with a due date and track its collection in receivables ageing.
Sources
- FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction (Red Book), 2nd edition 2017. Text from the licensed publisher copy
- FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Plant and Design-Build (Yellow Book), 2nd edition 2017. The official text is the publisher's
- FIDIC Conditions of Contract for EPC/Turnkey Projects (Silver Book), 2nd edition 2017. The official text is the publisher's
- Law 182 of 2018 on contracts made by public bodies (Official Gazette no. 39 bis (d), 3 October 2018)
- Executive Regulation, Minister of Finance Decree 692 of 2019 (Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriya no. 244 cont. (b), 31 October 2019)
This guide is an explanatory summary written by the Ta3mir engineering team. It is not the text of the law or of any contract and it is not legal advice. Figures in the examples are illustrative. Your contract and the officially published text govern, so check them with a contracts adviser before acting.